a glimpse into a Latter-day Saint, Charlotte Mason education

Loose Parts

John (age 2) spent nearly an hour playing with Keva blocks, and small wood slices, or “tree cookies” as they are often called. He said he was making a train, then a truck pulling a trailer—the tree cookies were the wheels.

“Loose parts possess infinite play possibilities. They offer multiple rather than single outcomes: no specific set of directions accompanies them; no single result is inevitable.” -From the book, Loose Parts: Inspiring Play in Young Children.

One of my objectives for our play room has been to allow ample opportunity for loose parts play. The book mentioned above is chock-full of inspiration, providing many brightly colored photographs on loose parts play. It has made me think about creating loose parts invitations with intention, to consider aspects of line, design, color, and to seek out sensorial opportunities rather than just making it a free for all. Lately, when it’s time for a change, I’ve been grabbing whatever first comes to mind, switching out materials on a weekly basis. (I hope to put more thought into soon; however, even when it’s been so haphazard, there’s been some wonderful play happening.)

Loose parts play sounds so cheerful, in theory, but I will admit, the one issue I have with loose parts play is this: there can be a lot of clean up involved. So be selective about what materials are available at one time, unless you’re willing and ready to track down a lot of pieces (mostly if a two-year-old is involved). And yet, with long periods of self-directed play, a lot of learning is happening; sometimes you have to embrace the mess, especially when the child is so creatively invested.